But why?
by Denizen of Dreamland
Summary: On Christmas Eve, Minato wakes up to find his younger brother, Yu, sitting alone in front of the Christmas tree. It turns out he's been thinking about topics that most eight year olds like him would never dare to talk about. Like death. And sacrifices. And what it means to be a Messiah. Little does Minato know that he's the right person to comfort Yu during his existential crisis.


_(23/12/2019)_

_Warning #1: **You might want to click away now if you believe in Santa Claus.** Ratings are there for a reason._

_Warning #2: This fanfic discusses topics related to religion, namely, Christianity. The author does not mean to offend anyone if the information in this fanfic is inaccurate, poorly explained, or written in a way that sounds insulting to religious people. After all, I was raised as a Christian in a family of Christians in a country of Christians, so I don't have anything against the religion._

_Also, pronouns referring to Jesus Christ aren't capitalized. Again, I don't mean to offend anyone by this. I chose to write this fanfic that way because not everyone who reads this is necessarily a Christian, so I hope you understand._

* * *

Minato shouldn't have woken up at 11 pm on the night of Christmas Eve. No kid should have. But he didn't care, because he was hungry and, to Minato, food had come before ethical obligations for as long as he could remember.

Not like it mattered much, of course, considering that he already knew about Santa Claus. He had known for... what? Two, three years, maybe a bit more? Come on, he was ten years old now. He was almost a teenager, so if he wanted adults to stop treating him like a child, he had to grow up and stop behaving like one. Even if it still felt sacrilegious when he got up from his futon, walked towards the door, and wrapped his hand around the doorknob, he pushed himself to move forward, to break that habit for once and for all.

Don't get me wrong. Even though Minato had stopped believing, he still wasn't completely free from Santa's watchful eye. He had a responsibility as an older brother, one that he wasn't sure he wanted to bear, but one that he couldn't just ignore either. Three of his siblings still believed. Ren, who was only five years old, Yu, who had gotten more inquisitive as of late, suggesting that he was probably going to find out soon, and Hamuko, his twin sister, who still hadn't shown any signs of knowing the truth, for some reason.

Minato didn't want to feed the fantasy, but if he broke the news to them without thinking about his words carefully, he could cause more harm than good. It didn't help his case that Naoya refused to tell them because he was convinced that every child needed to find out at their own pace. That was all well and good, of course, since some kids just aren't ready, but… Minato was honestly worried about his sister. What would everyone at school think of her?

There was nothing he could do, though. Besides, all of that was playing to his advantage right now, so he couldn't complain. Sneaking out of his room in the middle of the night could only be easier if he was certain that Ren, Yu, Hamuko, and Tatsuya (who refused to take part in "perpetuating the rumor"… or… something) would be fast asleep.

Minato was familiar enough with the hallway to navigate it in the dark. He hummed a tune to make the silence of the night more bearable while he walked towards the living room and approached the table where he knew that his younger siblings had left a glass of milk and a tray of cookies for Santa. Nobody would mind if he took one or two of those, right? No one would find out. Besides, Naoya and Maya could use a bit of help getting rid of them before Christmas morning. He grabbed one of the chocolate chip cookies and tested its rough texture between his fingers, before taking a bite.

"Huh? Who's there?"

The voice, high-pitched and clearly belonging to a child, spoke softly so as to not wake anyone else up. Minato turned around, scoured the room with his eyes, and spotted a dim silhouette that he had overlooked before. He could see the figure's outline thanks to the soft moonlight that leaked through the closed curtains. Yes, there was no mistaking it. There was a small boy sitting on the floor, close to the Christmas tree, a few feet away from Minato.

"Oh. Minato-niisan. It's just you."

There was some rustling as Yu fidgeted in place and lowered his gaze to face the ground in front of him. His silhouette was getting clearer and clearer as Minato's eyes adjusted to the darkness. The blue-haired boy glanced at the tray, which only held four remaining cookies, grabbed another one, and carefully walked towards Yu, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Hey, Yu. What's up?" Minato said, sitting down next to his younger brother. "Are you waiting for Santa-san to show up?"

From up close, Minato could see that Yu was staring at a nativity scene that he had built out of paper cranes and that he had neatly placed under the Christmas tree a few days ago. It was a work of art that Yu had been very proud of, with reason, because it was very skillful, proving that, only at eight years old, he was already very talented for this sort of thing. Maybe he'd be an artist when he grew up.

"Yes. No. Yes _and_ no." Yu's head fell onto his palm. "I guess… yeah, I wanna know the truth about him. But that's not the only reason I'm here. I can't sleep."

"Hm?" Minato took a bite out of his cookie. "Why's that?"

Yu seemed to wonder whether he should answer the question or not. To reassure him a bit, Minato offered him the other cookie. Yu reluctantly took it and waved it around in his hand, as if measuring its weight, but he didn't take a bite just yet. He just sighed. "Um… You're not gonna understand."

"Try me."

"Well…" Yu motioned towards the nativity scene. "I feel bad for Baby Jesus."

After some hesitation, Yu nibbled on his cookie, but his eyes were unfocused and he had a distant look on his face. He didn't seem to be registering the sweet taste or even the crunchy texture of his snack. He was simply taking bites as if out of habit, as if to relieve his stress, not seeming to enjoying the experience at all. Minato also looked at the nativity scene and scratched his head. Their family had never been very religious, so he would've never expected Yu to be concerned about something like that. It was extremely out of nowhere.

"I didn't know you were a Christian." Minato said.

Yu shook his head. "I'm not. But our teacher was telling us about the origin of Christmas the other day and she told us all about Baby Jesus. You know, how he was born, what he means for Christians, and all that. I, um… I got curious, so I read more about his story. And…" Yu's voice trailed off.

"And…?"

"Well, I found out that he died. For humanity. Or something." Yu avoided making eye contact by tracing figures on the floor with his free hand. "At least that's what they believe. And I feel sorry for him."

Huh. Minato hadn't heard that one before. He had no idea of how he was supposed to approach a situation like this. After all, not many kids worry about the death of a man who lived two thousand years before they were born. Plus, Minato didn't even know if he had enough information to comfort Yu about a topic related to Christianity. He could hold his ground in a conversation about music, about books, about school, or about games, but… about religion? That wasn't his forte. But at least he'd have to try, for Yu.

Minato gave him a small smile. "Hey, don't worry about it. That was his decision."

"Yeah, but… why did he have to die?"

Minato popped the last piece of the cookie into his mouth and took his time to reply. He needed to think this one through. While Minato pondered, Yu also finished his own cookie, though it didn't seem to lift his spirits at all like his older brother thought it would. After a moment of silence, Minato spoke. "Because he knew that humanity was in danger, so he gave his life away to save it."

That seemed very straightforward to Minato. When he said it out loud, though, his answer didn't sound as satisfactory as he had hoped.

"I get that. But that's not right. He was born just to die!" Flustered, Yu started to gesture energetically. "He knew he was going to die! He didn't get to live like the rest of us… He could've had a normal life, but, _no,_ he had to die!"

"Nobody is born just to die." Minato frowned out of concern for his brother. "Listen, Yu. We all die. Jesus Christ was going to die eventually. That doesn't mean he, or any of us, for that matter, was born to die."

Yu dropped his head and sighed again. "That makes it even more unfair… He was going to die anyways…"

"Don't look at it that way. When Jesus Christ sacrificed himself, he didn't squander his life, he just made his death useful. He never regretted his decision, not even when he was crucified. Sure, he died pretty soon, but he accepted it because he really wanted other people to live on when he was gone. He wanted to save humanity no matter the cost."

"Yes, but…" Yu said. "Ugh, this is gonna sound rude."

"It's okay. You can trust me with anything."

"Well… He didn't have to do it, right? You just said it. He was gonna die anyways, so he could've decided to enjoy his life for a bit longer. I mean, I wouldn't blame him if he hated humanity. They were the ones who got in that mess and they still wanted to kill him… so what made him do it? He had no reason to sacrifice himself."

_What?_ What was that, again? This wasn't the lighthearted, positive Yu that Minato knew. In fact, Yu wouldn't talk about death, murder, and hatred if he could avoid it, which he usually could because of how young he was. It wasn't because he was scared of death or because he didn't understand it, but because he'd much rather look on the bright side of things. He always had a novel insight for all kinds of topics, managing to find a refreshing solution where there didn't seem to be any. He was like a ray of hope, in a different way than Maya or Hamuko were. His optimism was grounded, almost realistic, and it was rather passive, so instead of being a trait that Minato found annoying, like he usually did, it was one that he had come to admire.

Hearing Yu talk like that, though, was a completely different experience. Minato knew that the kid wouldn't be able to ignore deeper, darker topics his whole life, but this was way too sudden. With all due respect, he didn't even want to imagine the possibility of Yu growing up to become a disinterested, pessimistic cynic like Tatsuya one day. Of course, there was no telling if that would happen yet, but he still crossed his fingers and wished that this wouldn't affect Yu in the long run. He had definitely given this issue a lot of thought, huh? Minato shook his head, failing to hold back a smile. That future philosopher… Minato would have to be very careful if he wanted to comfort his little brother. If he messed up now, there was no telling how that would affect Yu's worldview. As smart as he was, he was still an impressionable kid, after all.

"You know what? I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, because you deserve to know the truth." Minato said, in a confident and forceful tone of voice. Yu perked up instantly, looking at Minato in awe, finally without breaking eye contact. "No one is perfect. Humanity isn't perfect. Humanity has made lots of mistakes and has done lots of awful stuff. There were and still are a lot of terrible people in the world and Jesus Christ knew that. Yeah, he could've just given up, thinking that humanity would never change. He could've just saved himself and lived free of any… um, godlike worries. But you know why he died for humanity? Because humanity was worth dying for."

"But no one proved that to him…"

"His friends did."

Minato stopped in his tracks, shocked by what he had heard come out of his own mouth. It had slipped out without a second thought, as if it was the most natural thing in the universe. It sounded as confidently as if he had spent his whole life preparing himself for this moment, as matter-of-factly as if he had been a priest celebrating a mass in a Christian church itself. He only realized that his wording was probably not the best until it was already too late. He couldn't backtrack now.

Yu blinked at him with curiosity. "His… His friends?"

Minato frowned. "His apostles. Disciples. Followers. Whatever. You know what I was talking about."

Yu giggled, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "You said _friends_, not followers!"

"Well, you can call them friends if you want to, I guess." Minato shrugged. "But that's not the point-"

"Hm, I think I get it." Yu said, interrupting Minato before he could keep explaining. The grey-haired boy picked up the paper crane in the nativity scene that represented Baby Jesus and looked at it fondly. "His friends showed him that there were many good people in the world, that… that humanity could change! That… that if they wanted to, people could open their eyes and see what they were doing wrong! And everyone deserves another chance, right? A chance to change and be a better person…" Yu suddenly stopped in his tracks, shifting in his seat. His expression darkened.

"Huh? What happened?" Minato said. "You were right. Why did you stop?"

"Now I feel bad for his friends…"

Oh, the joys of being an older brother.

"It's okay, Yu, don't worry about it. I'm sure his… _followers_… were very proud of him." Minato placed a hand on Yu's back while the other boy put the paper crane back where it belonged. "Of course they must've been sad at first, because he didn't deserve to die, but… I'm sure they understood why he sacrificed himself. I bet the rest of them would've done the same if they had been in his place, because, at the end of the day, none of them wanted humanity to suffer."

Yu still looked downcast as he mindlessly rearranged the nativity scene. "But Baby Jesus got to spend little time with them, because he died so soon…"

"Yeah, he had a short life. But you know what they say. It's not about the destination. It's about the journey." Minato stood up, offered Yu his hand, helping him stand up after him, and put his hands on his brother's shoulders to look at him directly. "It's about the people he met, the memories that he made with them, the things that he achieved, and… yes, the friends he made along the way. As for his followers, well… Jesus Christ touched their lives and changed them forever, even after his death. They were happy to have met him, even if he had to leave soon. The impact he had on their beliefs and their way of life was so strong that they continued to spread the word, change other people's lives, and honor their friend's sacrifice. I mean, we wouldn't be talking about this if people hadn't taken the time and effort to write about him and preach his teachings. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah… I guess you're right."

To Minato's shock, Yu charged against him and wrapped his arms around his waist. It was out of nowhere and it almost made him trip and fall on his rear, but it didn't take long until Yu softened his grip. Huh. Once Minato realized that it was a hug and not an attack, he found that he didn't mind it all that much.

Yu looked up, placing his chin against Minato's stomach, and grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks, nii-san! I'm sorry for bothering you in the middle of the night."

"No, don't be sorry. You aren't being a bother." Minato said. He ruffled Yu's hair and gently broke out of the hug. "I only want you to be okay. You know, if you're ever feeling down or if something's troubling you, you can always talk to me."

Yu nodded. "Mm hm! Will do." He yawned, covering his mouth with his arm, he looked around as if making sure that he wasn't forgetting anything, and then he looked back at Minato. "I'm gonna go to sleep now. Good night."

"Me too. Night."

Yu started walking towards his room, but he stopped and turned around right before heading into the hallway. "Hey, nii-san."

"Yeah?"

"Um…" Yu hesitated, as he kicked the ground nervously and intertwined his own fingers. Biting his lip, he stared at the ground for a good while before he decided to speak in a whisper. "... I'm glad to be part of your family."

Minato smiled. "Ah, you're embarrassing me. Just go to sleep already."

Yu's grin didn't falter for a single second as he nodded once again. He turned around and ran towards his room, making as little noise as a running eight year old possibly could. Minato watched in silence until he heard a door click, signalling that Yu was inside his room and, thus, out of earshot. He was now alone, basking in the soft moonlight in the living room, with the Christmas tree and the tiny nativity scene as his only companions. At least he'd be alone until Maya and Naoya finally decided to wake up to arrange all the presents for Christmas morning, excited about seeing Hamuko's, Yu's, and Ren's faces light up with joy once they saw what Santa had brought for them at midnight. Minato wouldn't say it out loud, but had to admit that he was kinda looking forward to it.

He sighed. One way or another, this "family" of his was really going to be the death of him, wasn't it?

Well, he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

_A/N: I wrote this to cope with the ending of Persona 3. And also to apologize to Yu for what I did to him on my last one-shot. I really do have a love-hate relationship with the guy..._

_Anyways, this fanfic was inspired by the Step-Siblings AU by hokorinn on Tumblr! I only added Hamuko and Maya, who weren't present in the original, and I aged up all of the characters a bit, to make them two years older. This fanfic was also written based on the 13th prompt of the Persona 3 Winter Festival by nemirutami on Tumblr! I guess it could also fit the prompt for day 24 (AU), but I wrote it with the prompt "Messiah" in mind, so that's that._

_Well, I love this AU, so this is probably not the last fanfic I write for it. In any case, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!_


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